Eastern Kentucky University has entered into an agreement with the United States Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center to provide credit courses in the CP-12 safety program at Fort Rucker in Alabama.

Representatives of the University and the Army met on the Richmond campus recently to sign a memorandum of understanding that will provide for up to six hours of academic credit in the University’s graduate program in Safety, Security and Emergency Management for the successful completion of the CP-12 (safety and health) program.

The CP-12 program, designed by EKU’s Division of Continuing Education and Outreach with courses taught at Fort Rucker by EKU faculty, is a 240-hour program for civilian personnel operating within the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. The program encompasses safety requirements identified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for military application.

“Safety and occupational health specialists have become an increasingly integral part of all military operations, regardless of branch,” said Dr. Brenda Miller, senior safety advisor to the Director of Army Safety/Functional Chief Representative for CP-12. “They are an essential component of readiness.

Miller said similar educational partnerships with EKU might be explored in the areas of fire, explosives safety training and occupational health.